Mr. Monkey Bakes a Cake
by Jeff Mack
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (July 3, 2018)
Fiction * Early Reader * Humor
Audience: Ages 4 to 8
IndieBound | WorldCat
Description from GoodReads:
Curious George meets Mr. Bean in this adorable new picture book series from author-illustrator Jeff Mack that follows the loveable Mr. Monkey on his wacky adventures.
Mr. Monkey bakes a cake.
He can’t wait to win a ribbon!
But first he has to carry it to the contest.
What could possibly go wrong?
Quick thoughts on this book:
I read a lot of early readers. I appreciate how hard it is to write for very beginning readers. Most early readers serve a purpose of providing books for new readers to build reading skill and confidence. Since students do not spend a long time in early readers and move on fairly quickly to early chapter books and transition books, volume of books likely outweigh quality of story. As a result, I rarely find a book that is so well done that I want to read it over and over again.
However, it does happen. I do find early readers that I love and get really excited about. When I picked up Mr. Monkey Bakes a Cake, I was expecting another so-so early reader. Wow, I was certainly surprised.
Jeff Mack has done an outstanding job of keeping text controlled and patterned but also engaging. I have read this book a couple of times trying to figure out what he did to really make this book soar. I suspect that a significant part of it his success is due to the fact that he has created a funny and likable character in Mr. Monkey.
Yet, I suspect it is so much more than just a likable character and engaging text and laugh out loud humor. I think I might just read Mr. Monkey Bakes a Cake once again under the guise of trying to figure out how this book knocks it out of the park.
Don't miss Mr. Monkey Visits a School, which also came out on July 3rd.
Look for both these titles at your local indie bookstore or community library.
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